Fisheries-Oceanography
Coordinated Investigations (FOCI)
FOCI PI Meeting Minutes - 18 June 1998
ATTENDING
Ric Brodeur, Al Hermann, Art Kendall, Mark
Koehn, Allen Macklin, Ann Matarese, Jeff Napp, Jim Overland, Cindy Tynan,
Morgan Busby (rapporteur)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Dr. Steve Hammond is Division Leader of PMEL's Ocean
Environment Research Division (OERD). Effective July 1, the Coastal and
Arctic Research Division, where PMEL FOCI presently resides, will become
part of OERD, and Dr. Hammond will be division leader for PMEL FOCI. Dr.
Hammond's office is in Newport, Oregon, and he makes frequent visits to
Seattle. He also leads PMEL's VENTS and Tsunami projects. With FOCI, these
projects constitute the research pursued by OERD. As a result of this restructuring,
FOCI will acquire another physical oceanographer.
-
The PMEL program review will take place Tuesday and
Wednesday, June 23-24. FOCI's oral presentations begins Tuesday at 1:30
p.m., followed by posters and coffee at 3:00, and a reception at 4:30.
-
The SEBSCC proposal evaluation process in ongoing with
determinations to be made late this summer.
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The UNOLS vessel Wecoma has acquired a reduced-rate
Inmarsat e-mail link. A fixed account has been established for the chief
scientist. The address is: chsci@pigeon.shipops.orst.edu. Individual accounts
are created on a cruise-by-cruise basis for those members of the scientific
party that want them.
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Field Season Debriefing - A meeting is being planned
by Allen Macklin and Jeff Napp during the first half of July to discuss
aspects of this spring's field season.
-
A symposium "Ecosystems of the North Pacific" is scheduled
for July 17 in conjunction with the visit of the Fisheries Research Vessel
Oshoro Maru from Hokkaido University, Japan. The symposium will be held
in Building 9, rooms A and B, on the Seattle NOAA campus. Contact Ric Brodeur
for the tentative agenda.
FIELD SEASON
-
W9806B (June 17-30; Matt Wilson, Chief Scientist) -
Bering Sea Mooring 2 broke loose from its anchor last Thursday. Wecoma
was diverted to the area, found the mooring and recovered it with all sensors
intact. Wecoma is now in route to the Gulf of Alaska to conduct a survey
of early juveniles. Mooring 2 will be off-loaded in Kodiak, and a replacement
will be deployed in July from the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfrid
Laurier.
-
W9805A (May 6-22; Ned Cokelet, Chief Scientist) - Bad
weather and equipment problems prevented completion of some objectives
on this cruise to conduct CTD transects and sample nutrients, phytoplankton,
and zooplankton on the eastern Bering Sea shelf.
-
W9805B (May 25-Jun 14; Ron Reed, Chief Scientist) -
Operations during this cruise to investigate the Bering Sea basin were
deep CTD's and nutrient analysis west of Bowers Ridge, and sampling of
CFC's (Freon) and Tritium in bottom water. Accomplishments included elucidation
of deep circulation near Bowers Ridge, determination that bottom water
is 0.3 degrees C colder than intermediate water and flows from west to
east. A bottom circulation study of the entire Bering Sea is now possible.
-
MF9804 (May 21-30; Kevin Bailey, Chief Scientist) -
This annual cruise to survey abundance of late larvae in the Shelikof Strait
region successfully completed all objectives including El Nino work. Larval
abundance is low this year with less patchy distribution.
-
Fall Cruise (September; Ric Brodeur, Chief Scientist)
- The Russian R/V Professor Kaganovsky has been chartered for this fall's
juvenile pollock ecosystem study near the Pribilof Islands. Cruise scientists
are modifying operations to accommodate the physical setup of this ship.
SCIENCE DISCUSSION
-
Bering Sea conditions - Inflow into the Bering Sea is
now occurring on the west side of Amchitka Pass, rather than the east side.
Temperatures in the S.E. Bering Sea are warmer than previous years and
there has been more storm activity. The level of thermal stratification
is less pronounced as a result. A spring bloom was not evident in the middle
or outer shelf domains. It was hypothesized that some heat absorbed in
the upper water column last summer was retained over the winter.
-
Shelikof Strait conditions - This region has also been
stormy this year. Despite a vigorous circulation, we observed meanders
and eddies in the Alaska Coastal Current. As noted above, the abundance
and distribution of late larvae were low this year.
NEXT MEETING
The next FOCI PI meeting is scheduled for Thursday
July 9 at 10:00 am in the Cloud Chamber, Building 3, room 2065. Sigrid
Salo is the scheduled rapporteur.
CORRECTIONS
Please mail corrections and additions to
the FOCI Coordinator.
FOCI
Coordinator
MINUTES SELECTION
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